


stop all the world now

by wethethousands (atlantisairlock)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, First Kiss, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-18 00:23:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2328512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlantisairlock/pseuds/wethethousands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're hiding out and the warehouse is dark and dank, it's fucking freezing and they're pretty much trapped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stop all the world now

**Author's Note:**

> title from the howie day album.

She doesn't blame Jemma for being terrified. This is, to put it simply, not her division. They're hiding out and the warehouse is dark and dank, it's fucking freezing and they're pretty much trapped, and Melinda wouldn't be surprised if Jemma flipped out completely, started throwing herself against the walls or went into shock, to be honest.

But she  _is_ surprised when she turns to ask Jemma if she's holding up all right and Jemma kisses her.

It's not brief. It's not gentle. It's hot and intense and needy, everything that Jemma  _isn't,_  shouldn't be.Her fingers are twisted in Melinda's collar, tugging her closer, and it's all Melinda can do to grab her shoulders and push her away firmly. "Simmons," she whispers, inches away from her lips. "Simmons.  _Jemma._ "

Jemma lets herself be pushed, curls up and hugs her knees to her chest. There are tears glimmering in her eyes and her hiccups echo in the empty, cavernous depot. "Please.  _Please,_ I need this."

 _What do you need?_ The question's on Melinda's tongue but she swallows it back down - it burns; her chest burns, she can't breathe. Her Achilles heel, her weak spot, what's probably going to get her killed one day. She cannot say no, not to Jemma. Not now. Not ever. Melinda leans forward, cups Jemma's face in her hands and kisses her. It's just lips against lips, soft, chaste, tender. She  _knows_ what Jemma needs, so she litters kisses against Jemma's forehead, her jaw, the edge of her mouth.  

"I've got you. I've got you. You're safe, it's okay, you're okay. I'm here. It's going to be all right. It's okay. I've got you." She repeats the words like a prayer, slipping from her mouth in a steady stream, lips trailing fleetingly against skin between each murmured phrase. She does this until Simmons stops shaking, until the tears stop falling. Melinda's about to let go but then Jemma clings on, chilled hands gripping Melinda's arms, mumbles something Melinda doesn't catch.

"What?"

Another garbled mutter which Melinda strains to hear. 

" _Simmons._ "

"... loveyou."

Her blood turns to ice in her veins and it's not because of the temperature inside this fucking storehouse. She has to have heard that wrongly. "Jemma." She says her name like a question, a warning, a prayer all at once, and she's not sure whether she wants it to have been a mistake or not. 

The other agent lifts her head and stares straight at Melinda; she swallows, throat bobbing from the effort. Her voice cracks down the middle when she repeats what she said. "I love you."

The words are out of her mouth before she knows it. "No. No, you don't." 

Jemma flinches back as if she's been struck, and Melinda knows it's cruel, it's so cruel and _oh god why_ is she doing this, she doesn't want to do this, but her body's moving of its own accord, getting up and walking away from Jemma, no, _no_ , _you're not supposed to do that, stop it,_   _stop, you're supposed to say it back, you're supposed to reply with an_ _I_ _love you too._

"Melinda," Jemma wheezes out with an effort; the cold is getting to her. "Please." _  
_

She stops in her tracks, folds her arms and takes a few deep breaths, counts to ten and back. When she starts speaking again, she's still not facing Jemma. "Look... Simmons... please don't do this." It comes out pleading, raspy, weak. The burning's even worse now, threatening to swallow her whole. 

They're freezing their asses off in a warehouse waiting for the extraction team because Jemma's broken both her legs and Melinda can't  _believe_ they're having this talk  _now,_ but apparently they are. The hurt in Jemma's tremulous voice is evident. "I thought - I thought you felt the same way."

_I do._

"Don't do this to me."

_I'm sorry._

"Please say something. Melinda. Please. Anything."

_You're supposed to be the calm, rational one. Stop. Please stop. Jemma._

"Melinda."

And then they hear noises outside, and Melinda doesn't think she's ever been so glad to know the extraction team's arrived.

 

 

It's two weeks later that they finally talk about it again.

"You can't avoid me forever, you know."

Jemma moves to overtake Melinda on her wheelchair, calm and composed. This is not the Jemma in the warehouse, desperate and wanting; this is  _Jemma,_ cool and level-headed and determined to get what she wants - or, if nothing, the truth. Melinda decides to oblige her, and stops. 

"I'm not avoiding you."

She scoffs. "Please. Even  _I_ could tell a better lie than that." 

Melinda closes her eyes, clenches her fists till her nails dig into her palms. "Jemma."

"You could just  _tell_ me, you know. At least let me know if I read too far in or I was too self-absorbed." The words are laden with caustic anger. "That's all I want. Just... please, Melinda."

When Melinda kisses her in the middle of the corridor it's like the warehouse all over again, only this time it's not Jemma who's crying and it's not Jemma who's acting out of character. _"I love you,"_ and it has none of the intensity and want that Jemma's rendition of it had; it's wobbly and choked and thick with tears but it's enough, and Jemma presses her forehead against Melinda's and whispers back, _"I know."_


End file.
